The Stanford University Libraries hold the country's largest research collection of primary sources on the Mexican American experience in the United States. The collection contains more than 10,000 linear feet, including the personal papers of writers like Arturo Islas, Luis Leal, Cherrie Moraga and many more, and it is housed primarily in the Department of Special Collections.
Also represented in the collection are extensive works of visual artists like Barbara Carrasco, Laura Aguilar, Harry Gamboa and the papers of Ester Hernandez and Lourdes Portillo. Archives of prominent organizations such as MALDEF (the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund), the California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA) and the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), are also part of the Mexican American collections held at Stanford.
